Safety-match box



Feb. 27, 1962 w. I. KREISNER 3,022,884 SAFETY-MATCH BOX Filed Nov. 4, 1960 All/FF" INVENTOR. I. KRE IS NER AGENT WILLIAM United States atent Filed Nov. 4, 1960, Ser. No. 67,212 1 Claim. (Cl. 206-36) My present invention relates to safety-match boxes having one or more striking surfaces.

Boxes for safety matches in common use heretofore have generally beenprovided with two chemically treated external striking coatings which were applied directly to two lateral walls of the fibrous (i.e. wooden) sleeve within which the open-top match receptacle, of similar cellulosic material, was displaceable between open and closed extreme positions. The striking surfaces of such boxes not only were unaesthetic in appearance but also prevented the ready and inexpensive application of advertising material to the container. Legible matter, for example, could be applied to these boxes along the top and bottom surfaces thereof only in the form of printed strips co extensive with the respective surface and cemented thereto. The exposed striking surfaces of conventional match boxes were also found to be readily scutfed and otherwise injured by normal handling, thereby reducing their efiectiveness.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a match box adapted to obviate the aforementioned disadvantages of conventional match boxes, and a process for making same.

Another object of my invention is to provide a match box having improved safety characteristics.

According to a feature of my invention, a match box, comprising a sleeve member of generally rectangular cross-section and a mating open-top match-receptacle member displaceable within the sleeve member, is formed with a striking coating upon the outer surface of a lateral wall of one of the members. A wrapping sheet, advantageously carrying printed and/ or embossed legible matter and dimensioned to overlie at one of the coated surfaces of the sleeve member and preferably also the adjacent top surface of that member, is afiixed thereto. The wrapper is provided with at least one opening adapted to permit access through it to the striking coating whereby a match may be drawn thereacross for ignition in the conventional manner. It will be understood that the working surface of the coating thus lies below the outer surface of the Wrapper to a depth determined by the thickness of the wrapping material, thereby obviating the scufling of the coating which may, for example, arise from the frictional interengagement of coatings on two abutting match boxes in their packing carton. Furthermore, the opening may be of any desired shape and may mask any portion of the striking coating to provide an aesthetically pleasing match box.

While the wrapping may be dimensioned to cover, say, only the top surface and one coated lateral surface of the sleeve, 'I prefer to provide a wrapper of sufficient size to overlie simultaneously two opposite coated lateral surfaces as well as the top surface of a match-box sleeve.

The portion of the wrapper covering the top surface of the sleeve will then carry an advertising message or the like printed upon the wrapper. Since the bottom surface of the sleeve either requires no wrapping or may be covered by a portion of the printed or embossed wrapper described above, the finishing of the sleeve thus necessitates only a single wrapping sheet in contradistinction to earlier match boxes which required two such sheets, i.e. a top wrapper sheet and a bottom wrapper sheet.

According to another aspect of the invention, I provide a prismatic match-box casing having two lateral Walls, at least one of which is formed with a striking coating, with a wrapper embracing the two lateral walls and 3,022,884 Patented Feb. 27, 1962 the top of the casing and substantially registering with the coating, the wrapping being provided withan opening adapted to aiford access to the coating. I prefer to fashion such a match box from a sleeve member and an open-top receptacle member slidably fitting into the sleeve member, the lateral walls of the sleeve member being provided with the striking coating. A cover sheet coextensive with the two lateral walls and the top wall of the sleeve, contiguous therewith, is wrapped around and affixed to the outer surfaces of these walls in registry with the striking coatings. The cover sheet is provided with elongated openings through which the striking coatings are exposed for striking a match.

alt is, however, also possible to constitute the wrapper as part of the aforementioned sleeve and to form it with an elongated window through which part of a striking coating carried by a lateral wall of the receptacle member is exposed, at least in the closed condition of the box. Again the wrapper, which encloses the lateral walls and the top of the receptacle member, may comprise a cover sheet afiixed to the top and lateral walls of the sleeve which is formed with an opening registering with the aforementioned window. When the receptacle member is displaced partially out of the sleeve to facilitate the removal of a match, only a limited striking surface is exposed. The match box, therefore, must be almost completely closed before the removed match can be ignited by drawing it along the striking surface, thereby preventing any accidentally dislodged ember from entering the receptacle and kindling the matches therein.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of my invention will become more readily apparent from the following description, reference being made to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a top-plan View of a match box according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side-elevational view of the matchbox;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III- III of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the box illustrating a final step in the application of the wrapper according to my invention;

FEG. 5 is a plan view of the wrapper;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a match box according to another embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI'I VII of FIG. 6.

in FIGS. l-S I show a match box 10 which comprises an open-top match receptacle l1 slidably received in a sleeve 12. The lateral walls 13 of the latter are provided with striking coatings 14 of a chemically treated friction material of conventional type. The sleeve 12 is wrapped in a cover sheet 15, best shown in FIG. 5, adapted to overlie the top surface 16 and the lateral surfaces 13 of the sleeve, and is cemented thereto by a suitable adhesive. The cover sheet 15, which is preferably a metallic or metallized foil, is provided with elongated openings 17 which afford access to the striking coatings 14 along the lateral walls 13 of the sleeve.

In FIGS. 6 and 7 I show a match box ill whose match receptacle i1 is provided, along its lateral walls 20', with striking coatings 14' and is slidably displaceable between an open and a closed extreme position within the sleeve 12. The lateral walls 13 of the latter, which confront the coated lateral walls 20 of the receptacle, are provided with elongated windows 21' which register with the openings 17 in the wrapper 15. When the receptacle is in its open position to facilitate removal of a match therefrom, the match cannot be conveniently struck against the limited coated surface available. When the receptacle 11' is, however, in its closed position, a sub- 3 stantial length of striking coating 14 is exposed through the window 21' to enable the striking of the match.

The invention as described and illustrated is believed to admit of many modifications and variations which are deemed to be within the ability of persons skilled in the art and are intended to be included within the spirit and the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claim.

I claim:

A match box comprising a disposable open-ended sleeve member of prismatic configuration having top and bottom walls and two lateral walls; and a prismatic receptacle member slidably displaceable within said sleeve member, said sleeve and receptacle members being formed of cellulosic material, each of said lateral walls being provided on the outer surface thereof with a striking coating covering substantially all of said outer surface; and a metal-foil sheet covering the top and lateral walls only of said sleeve and adhesively secured thereto in permanent union therewith and coextensively overlying said walls, said metal-foil sheet being provided with two opposite elongated side openings respectively framing said coatings and exposing major portions thereof for enabling the striking of a match therethrough.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,637,358 Taylor Ang. 2, 1927 

